After Dorias Angus explained the identity of the person named ‘Sertant’ to Ileil, he led Prinshitt—who claimed she couldn’t sleep—away to rest.
The saint had tried his best to speak in a calm tone while recounting those events, but the genuine sorrow that unintentionally seeped into his words was unmistakable.
……
Although Ileil felt sympathy for Dorias Angus’s experience, she couldn’t truly empathize with the saint.
From childhood to now, Ileil had never had a close friend like Sertant was to Dorias Angus.
Although her parents, older sister, and younger brother all had good relationships with her, she believed that familial affection and friendship were two entirely different things.
“Close friend, huh?”
After Dorias Angus and Prinshitt had walked far away, Ileil murmured the word to herself.
Thinking about it carefully… there had indeed been a few people around her age in Gro’s mercenary group, but burdened with her vengeful resolve, Ileil had barely interacted with them. The mercenaries she dealt with were almost all much older than her. Even when Ileil went onto the battlefield, people would often exclaim in surprise—why was their opponent just a kid? Of course, most of those who underestimated Ileil ended up dead because of their carelessness.
This word still felt too distant for Ileil.
“Close friend…” She repeated the word softly once more, as if trying to savor some kind of flavor from it.
Soft footsteps came from the corridor. The sound couldn’t escape Ileil’s ears. The girl looked up alertly and saw Prinshitt sneaking toward her on tiptoe, her ruby-like eyes bright as stars.
This girl really isn’t someone who makes life easy.
Prinshitt truly wasn’t one to let others relax. Ileil couldn’t help but sigh.
“Your Highness, why did you sneak out again?” Ileil called out to the princess, who had a very guilty look on her face. Her tone was helpless, like an elderly elder lecturing a junior. “Didn’t Mr. Dorias Angus already take you back to your room?”
“Shh, keep your voice down. I snuck out.” Prinshitt made a silencing gesture. She moved closer to Ileil and whispered, “I can’t sleep… My mind is full of what happened yesterday, and news about Kaze and Alyssa.”
Ileil noticed that the princess was anxiously twisting the sash of her nightgown with her fingers. The action reminded her of how she used to nervously fidget when lying to her father as a child. Her tone softened involuntarily:
“I’ve already explained it to you many times. They should be fine for now. Alyssa is very smart—she won’t just sit and wait for death. You should prioritize your own safety first.”
“That’s not exactly what I’m worried about.” Prinshitt blinked, her expression serious. “I noticed your attitude today was a bit strange… I’m not suspecting you, Ileil. I just want to ask—why didn’t you tell Mentor about the nun while he was still here earlier?”
Ileil’s entire body stiffened. It seemed Prinshitt wasn’t the brainless fool she sometimes appeared to be.
“I’ve already said everything I wanted to say, Your Highness.”
Ileil tried to brush the topic aside. The witch had claimed she could help with her revenge, and Ileil didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity. At the very least, she was still observing the witch and didn’t want to fall out with her just yet.
“Did you really say everything that was in your heart, Ileil?” Prinshitt’s eyes glittered with an unusual light under the moonlight. “Your attitude toward Sister Emilia was completely different in front of Duke Lokas and Mentor. You were openly suspicious of the nun in front of the duke, but ever since you sneaked back from the mercenary camp, you’ve been holding back information about Sister Emilia. Given your personality, you should have immediately told Mentor about the nun’s abnormalities. Yet when Mentor was talking about Sister Emilia… you didn’t say anything.”
“You’re overthinking it, Your Highness.” Ileil finally spoke, her voice calm to the point of indifference. “I simply believe that accusing a highly respected nun without solid evidence would be unwise.”
Prinshitt tilted her head slightly, her golden hair falling over her shoulder. “Don’t you think your excuse is rather poor? That doesn’t sound like something you would say, Ileil.”
A cold wind blew through the corridor, rustling their robes. Ileil could feel the witch’s presence stirring within her body. That voice whispered in her ear once more: Don’t tell her… She will only get in the way…
“I was simply following your and Duke Lokas’s advice and learning to assess the situation properly,” Ileil turned her face away, her golden eyes gazing at the night sky outside the window. “And you should be resting now. You have an important meeting tomorrow, Your Highness.”
Prinshitt stared into Ileil’s eyes and suddenly grabbed her wrist. “Look me in the eyes, Ileil—can you tell me the truth?” The princess’s tone grew firm. “Have you been influenced by something? I remember the day before yesterday too—after you wandered back from outside, you became strange just like you are now.”
Ileil’s pupils contracted slightly. She had almost forgotten. On that night two days ago, Prinshitt had also witnessed her abnormal behavior after she touched the black feather… Perhaps the princess had noticed something was off with her since then.
A trace of panic flashed through the silver-haired girl’s eyes before she quickly regained her composure. “You’re thinking too much. I just… have my own considerations.”
“What exactly are you considering? Whether to trust that nun, or whether to tell Mentor the truth?”
Prinshitt pressed, her red eyes fixed on her.
“The way you’re acting… it feels like something is clouding your judgment.”
Moonlight cast a clear line between the two of them. Ileil felt a surge of irritation—Prinshitt was unexpectedly sharp in situations like this. For a moment, she didn’t know how to brush the princess off.
“Your Highness,” she took a deep breath, “I have not hidden anything from you. Please allow me to repeat myself.”
“Stop brushing me off with those kinds of words!” Prinshitt’s voice suddenly rose, sounding particularly sharp in the quiet corridor. “If you really discovered something abnormal but chose to stay silent, then what about your two companions from the mercenary group? What about Kaze and Alyssa?”
“What do they have to do with me?” Ileil cut her off coldly. “My primary duty is only to protect you as ordered.”
“……”
The moment those words left her mouth, an inexplicable wave of guilt surged in Ileil’s heart. She looked at Prinshitt. The princess looked as if she had been slapped, the light in her eyes gradually dimming.
“So… that’s how you really think.” The princess’s voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.
“I thought…”
The rest of the words were swallowed back by Prinshitt.
Footsteps came from the corridor, breaking the awkward silence. Lily walked over while rubbing her sleepy eyes. When she saw the two of them, her cat ears twitched. “Eh…? Your Highness? Miss Ileil? Why are you two still here…? Didn’t Your Highness just return to her room?”
Prinshitt quickly composed her expression. “It’s nothing, Lily. I just… couldn’t sleep and came out for a walk.” She tried her best to act as if nothing had happened. “I’ll go back now.”
Ileil stood in place, watching Prinshitt’s departing back. The moonlight stretched the princess’s shadow long and lonely across the stone wall.
“Then Miss Ileil… what about you?” Lily looked at her in confusion. “Your expression looks really scary…”
“It’s nothing.” Ileil shook her head. “Go take care of Her Highness. I… need to be alone for a while.”
After Lily left as well, Ileil stood alone by the window. The night wind brushed through her silver hair, carrying the distant sound of church bells. The witch’s voice sounded again:
Well done… Hatred is your only destination…
But at this moment, that voice brought Ileil an unprecedented feeling of emptiness. A nameless anger rose in the girl’s heart—she wasn’t angry at anyone else. Ileil suddenly realized that the person who had just spoken those words seemed no different from that unforgivable bastard, Gro…
She stared at the distant spire of the church. The night wind blew through her silver hair, bringing a chill. For some reason, she suddenly recalled what Gro had said when they parted:
“Those high and mighty big shots never care whether people like us live or die.”
Ileil even felt that what she was doing right now was no better than Gro.
“What exactly… is wrong with me?”